The Warring States

                                                            The Warring States

                A long, long time ago, there were two neighboring countries at war. The king in the north was named Brandon and the king in the south was named Joseph. They had been battling constantly for five years with neither side gaining an upper hand. However, all that changed when a brutal winter destroyed a majority of Joseph’s crops. With a low food supply, Joseph’s troops were slowly being pushed back. Brandon knew this was the time to strike and finally conquer the south. He assembled his full army for one final battle. Joseph was in a dire situation but he refused to surrender. He knew surrender meant death. At this time, Joseph’s advisor William came up with a plan to save his lord. William suggested that Joseph should not only surrender but also offer to serve Brandon. Joseph was infuriated by this idea, but he knew this was also the only way for him and his people to survive. Under William’s instructions, Joseph surrendered to Brandon. Brandon was amused at the idea of having Joseph serve him. He wanted to humiliate and torture Joseph.  Brandon’s advisor thought it would be wise to simply execute him. They felt that Joseph had other intentions. Brandon didn’t think much of what his advisors said. He thought a coward like Joseph would be no threat to him.

                After conquering the south, Brandon returned home, the true king, and celebrated with his people. He had Joseph become his personal attendant. He made Joseph do every dirty job he could think of. Not only did Joseph have to endure harsh labor, but he barely had any food to eat. Brandon would only feed him his leftovers and that was equivalent to dog scraps. At night, Brandon would also torture Joseph. He would whip him repeatedly or beat him with a stick. Joseph had enough of this humiliation and decided to end his life. William knew of this and told his lord that he must endure. You have to survive in order to reclaim what was lost. Joseph was thinking there was no way that he could defeat Brandon’s army. It was at this time that William told his lord that he was secretly recruiting troops and saving up supplies. He urged his lord to endure the hardships and wait for the proper timing to strike back.

                Six years passed by and Joseph continued to endure Brandon’s punishments. Meanwhile, William kept recruiting more and more troops and kept them well trained. At the same time, Brandon’s army was dwindling and barely trained at all. Brandon has been enjoying himself and never took anytime to discipline his army. William finally sensed it was time for his lord to claim back his throne. Joseph decided his army would strike at night when Brandon and his army were too drunk to defend themselves. Joseph’s army wiped out Brandon’s army and Brandon was shocked that he was defeated so easily. Joseph finally reclaimed his throne and had Brandon executed.

Moral: Perseverance leads to ultimate victory.